Preventive orthodontic appliance

ABSTRACT

A TOOTH GUIDANCE APPLIANCE FOR ATTACHMENT TO A DENTAL PATIENT&#39;&#39;S TOOTH FOR DISTALLY GUIDING A SECOND ERUPTIVE TOOTH ADJACENT THERETO A PROPER MOUTH LOCATION, AND IS PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE TO GUIDING ERUPTIVE FIRST TEETH OF CHILDREN AND SECOND TEETH OF YOUNG ADULTS.

United States Patent [191 Haskins June 28, 1974 PREVENTIVE ORTHODONTICAPPLIANCE [76] Inventor: Richard C. Haskins, 1421 Wilton Way, Salt LakeCity, Utah 84108 [22] Filed: Feb. 28, 1973 21 Appl. No.2 336,738

52 us. cl 32/14 A [51] Int. Cl. A6lc 7/00 [58] Field of Search 32/14 A,12

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,034,2l5 5/l962 Doster32/14 A 3,468,028 9/1969 Sllpter 32/12 Primary Examiner-Louis G. ManceneAssistant Examiner-4. Q. Lever ABSTRACT A tooth guidance appliance forattachment to a dental patients tooth for distally guiding a seconderuptive tooth adjacent thereto to a proper mouth location, and isparticularly applicable to guiding eruptive first teeth of children andsecond teeth of young adults.

1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figures 1 PREVENTIVE ORTHODONTIC APPLIANCE BRIEFDESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This inventionrelates to orthodontic appliances for guiding an eruptive tooth intoproper mouth location.

2. Prior Art A common element required in mechanical applications offorce to displace an object at rest is that such force be appliedagainst an anchor. Such a requirement of an anchor exists also inorthodontic endeavors whreein mouth braces or like constraining bandarrangements are used to move teeth from an outwardly protrudingattitude into proper alignment. Ideally, a dental patients own rearteeth or molars are generally used as such anchor points for connectionto the ends of the mouth braces or constraining band arrangements.Should, however, as is common, the patients rear teeth enter the mouthforward of an optimum or desired mouth location, then said rear teeth ormolars must first be moved rearwardly prior to their being useful asanchors. Such molar rearward displacement has, in the past, generallyinvolved cumbersome, unattractive head bands or like structures asanchor points against which force is applied through an inelastic bandsecured to the rear teeth or molars. The present invention is adevelopment in preventive dentistry and comes after a recognition that,if the patients rear teeth or molars could be guided, upon theireruption, into proper mouth locations, then the process of straighteningthe patients outwardly protruding front teeth would be greatlysimplified.

With the above rational in mind, the present invention providesappliances that have tooth guide surfaces arranged thereon, whichappliances are secured to rearmost existing teeth within a patientsmouth whose rear teeth have been forecast, as by x-ray, study casts, andoral evaluation, to erupt at points forward of an optimum or propermouth location. With an appliance of the present invention properlyinstalled to such existing teeth, adjacent erupting teeth will be guidedrearwardly by contacting the adjacent guide surface into proper mouthlocations.

Prior to the present invention there have existed orthodontic applianceslike that shown in US. Pat. No. 3,127,677 that could have been arrangedto catch the edge of an erupting molar and guide it rearwardly as itemerges from the patients gum. While such a utilization could perhapshave been made of the device of the aforesaid patent, the patent itselfdoes not disclose such a use, nor would the device have been practicalfor such a utilization. Rather, as the wire arm thereof, afterinstallation against the edge of the emerging tooth, could easily havebeen displaced out of engagement therewith; as by the patients eating,brushing his teeth, or the like, such a device would be unsatisfactoryfor distally guiding eruptive teeth.

US. Pat. No. 3,034,215, on the other hand, does recognize the abovedescribed preventative dentistry need and discloses an orthodonticdevice that functions somewhat like that of the present invention.Structurally, however, the orthodontic appliance of the aforesaid patentis unlike that of the present invention. Where the aforesaid patentcalls for a tooth encircling band for anchoring a tooth guiding wedgethereon, the

present invention specifies a tooth covering crown installed as a toothcovering and mounting an eruptive tooth guiding dome thereon. Unlike thecrown of the present invention, the band of the aforesaid patent may nottightly seal about the entire tooth circumference, and may therefore actas a trap for accumulating food particles. Such accumulations of foodparticles would,

of course, tend to promote undesirable decay of such a banded tooth.

Additionally, the tooth guiding wedge of the aforesaid patent is unlikethe dome of the present invention in that the thinnest edge of the wedgeis required to extend beyond the band and into the surrounding gum,while the tooth guiding dome of the present invention is maintainedentirely on the side of the crown. Additionally, unlike the wedge whichhas its widest point in line with the top of the tooth to which it issecured, the dome apex is arranged opposite to an intermediate point onthe crown side.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the principal object of the presentinvention to provide a tooth guiding dome secured to the side of a toothcovering crown adjacent to the path of an eruptive tooth to distallyguide the tooth rearwardly into a proper mouth location as it emergesfrom the gums.

Principal features of the present invention include a crown secured overa tooth covering the top thereof and encircling a portion of the toothsides above the gum. A tooth guiding dome is secured to the side of thecrown or is formed in the crown side such that a slanted surface thereofis in the path of a second eruptive tooth prior to its emerging from thegums, with the dome apex aligned opposite to an intennediate point onthe cap side.

Additional objects and features of the invention will become apparentfrom the following detailed description, taken together with theaccompanying drawings.

THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a part of a dentalpatients jaw and gums with several teeth therein, showing the crown andtooth guiding dome of the present invention installed on an emergedtooth, with a second eruptive tooth emerging alongside thereof incontact with the slanted dome surface, showing in dotted lines theeruptive tooth fully emerged and having been displaced distally bycontact with the tooth guiding dome;

FIG. 2, a top plan view of the teeth of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3, a profile sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the drawings:

Shown in FIGS. 1 through 3, the present invention in a tooth guidanceappliance 10 consists of a crown 11 having a tooth guiding dome l2,hereinafter referred to as dome, installed on a rearward facing side 11athereof. The crown 11 is preferably a standard type crown commonlyinstalled on a tooth as a substitute for the top surface thereof. Suchan installation is made by a dental practitioner, and is common practicewhere the condition of a particular tooth requires the inclusion of asubstitute top surface. Shown in the sectional view of FIG. 3, the crown11 is secured over a fully emerged tooth 13 with respective rearward andforward facing sides thereof 11a and 1 lb, and the opposite sides 11ctightly cinched against the tooth sides, fimily anchoring the crown llthereon.

The dome 12 is secured to the crown rearwardly facing side 11a,extending outwardly therefrom and is preferably formed having a rounded,off-center apex 12a aligned opposite to an intermediate point on thecrown side 11a. From the apex 12a rounded, pyramidal dome, unequal topand bottom ends and the opposite sides slant inwardly towards the crownside, ending in thin edges 12b that intersect the crown side lla. Asshown best in F [68. l and 3, the dome bottom end 12c is the longestdome surface and extends between the apex 12a and lower edge 12bthereof, and is arced somewhat outwardly and lies in the path of aneruptive tooth 14, FIGS. 1 and 2. The dome 12 is thereby formed as asquat, rounded, off-center, pyramidal shaped structure that has arounded apex. Of course, the dome rounded sides could be arranged into asquat, off-center cone with the apex thereof formed as a sharp peak, ora different shape of a dome and apex therefor could be utilized withoutdeparting from the subject matter coming within the scope of thisinvention. It should therefore be obvious that the shape of dome 12should not be limited to the particular rounded, offcenter, pyramidshape disclosed herein with the only requirement for dome 12 being thatit will provide an outwardly sloping surface for engaging and cantingoutwardly the eruptive tooth l4 emerging from the patients gums l5.

Shown best in FIG. 3, the tooth guidance appliance of the presentinvention is arranged on the tooth 13 such that the crown rearwardlyfacing side lla, that has the dome 12 secured thereon, is opposite tothe path of travel of the eruptive tooth 14. So installed, the surfaceof a lower longest end 12c of the dome 12 is immediately opposite to anedge 14a of the eruptive tooth 14, such that upward growth thereof willbring the tooth edge 14a into engagement with an opposite point on theoutwardly sloping dome side 12c. The dome side 12c thereby provides arigid outwardly slanting surface for camming the erupting tooth 14 outof its natural path of travel from the gums 15 into a more desirablerearward location, as shown by the dotted line representation in FIG. 3.Though the dome 12 described herein could obviously be formed separatelyand attached to the crown side lla, as by soldering, brazing, welding orthe like, the dome 12 is preferably formed as a bulge in the crown sideduring manufacture with the interior thereof either filed or left vacantat the preference of the manufacturer or user.

By camming, as described above, an eruptive tooth,

such as a six-year molar, subsequently emerging teeth spaced rearwardlyfrom the six-year molar are in turn cammed rearwardly by the respectiveadjacent sides of the already emerged teeth. The patients back teeth,rearward of and including the six-year molar, are thereby properlypositioned and can serve as anchors for maintaining the ends of mouthbraces, or like structures thereto, to pull rearwardly a patientsemerged front teeth. The present invention is therefore particularlywell suited for the practice of preventative dentistry in small childrenwhere, because of the positioning and size of the teeth, it can beforecast that the rear teeth also will be positioned forward of adesired mouth location. By securing, as described, the tooth guidanceappliance 10 of the present invention to such a patients upper and lowerrearmost emerged teeth prior to the eruption of the six-year molars, theeruptive sixyear molars are guided as they emerge to desired mouthlocations and, in turn, guide teeth that erupt rearwardly therefrom.Whereafter, the present invention can be removed and the patientsproperly aligned back teeth can be used as described to provide anchorpoints to receive the ends of mouth braces, or like structures, securedthereto. 7

Although a preferred form of my invention has been herein disclosed, itis to be understood that the present disclosure is made by way ofexample, and that variations are possible without departing from thesubject matter coming within the scope of the following Claims, whichsubject matter I regard as my invention.

I claim:

1. A tooth guidance appliance for attachment to a tooth within a dentalpatients mouth to distally guide an adjacent eruptive tooth comprising acrown securable over the tooth to completely and closely cover the topthereof and having a skirt extending downwardly along the tooth sides;and

a dome forming a bulge on an eruptive tooth adjacent side of the crownand having a single rounded apex from which apex the dome surfaces taperto thin edges in contact with the crown side wall, said dome beingsecured between the upper and lower edges of an eruptive tooth adjacentside of said crown and having the apex thereof off-center and positionedopposite to an intermediate point on said crown eruptive tooth adjacentside such that a dome bottom end is the longest dome-surface, the domebottom end being in the path of the emerging eruptive tooth and taperinguniformly outwardly from said dome edge to said dome.

